I’m rather a fan of crackers and cheese and of cheesy crackers on their own, but recently I’ve been unable to find any that didn’t give me pause. First, there were some lovely locally made crackers… they were delicious, but came with a lot of packaging. Then there were some lovely crispy treats that I bought from a farm shop in north Wales when I was on my travels… and discovered had been imported all the way from Australia (WHAT?) plus they had a lot of packaging. Then I found some different local ones, that not only had loads of packaging, but also were made with palm oil (I didn’t even buy these as I noticed before I put them in my shopping basket).
It’s just like the saga of the biscuits… the only solution is to make them myself. A quick internet search and I found a simple basic recipe (flour, salt, oil and water) that could be adapted. I made some with freshly ground black pepper and some with added cheese, and voila… plastic-free, palm oil-free, yummy crackers…
The Snail of Happiness 
itwasjudith
/ July 9, 2019That’s a nice idea! I’ve also been bothered that my GF crackers come with a lot of packaging. I wonder if i could some myself….
Thanks for the idea
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The Snail of Happiness
/ July 9, 2019I should think you could – because crackers are delicate they seem to come in huge amounts of packaging. Give it a go – gf ones would be even more delicate, but should work fine as long as you handle them carefully.
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Seasons to Celebrate
/ July 11, 2019I find adding xantham gum to gf baked goods makes them less crumbly/delicate…but you probably already know that. It was a total revelation for me what I discovered this tip!
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craftycreeky
/ July 9, 2019Great idea, I’ve been trying to find tasty ones that were palm oil free without success, this is a much better idea 🙂
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The Snail of Happiness
/ July 9, 2019They were quick and easy to make: combine 3 cups flour, 1tsp salt, 1tsp sugar, 2 tbsp. oil and 1 cup water plus whatever flavourings you fancy, roll out thin, prick with a fork and cook in a hot oven for 10-15 minutes. You can brush them with water or egg and sprinkle on seeds if you fancy. Very, very easy.
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MrsCraft
/ July 9, 2019Great idea, I keep considering baking my own treats for the kids for the same reasons. Then I realise I lack skills and patience!
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The Snail of Happiness
/ July 10, 2019These were really quick and easy to make and I’m sure the kids would love them – especially if they could choose the flavours that you added… plus they are easy enough that the kids could make them themselves.
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katechiconi
/ July 9, 2019… rye flour, pumpkin seeds and dried cranberries; smoked paprika and parmesan; feta and chopped black olives; sesame and star anise… well, I could go on. I agree, most commercial crackers are wildly over-packaged. As for importing them to the UK from Australia, that’s, well, *crackers*!
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The Snail of Happiness
/ July 10, 2019I was absolutely astonished when I realised where those crackers had come from.
I’m so pleased with how mine turned out, that I shall certainly start experimenting with different flours, additions, herbs and spices.
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katechiconi
/ July 10, 2019No more astonishing, I suppose, than finding HobNobs on the shelves here…
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arlingwoman
/ July 10, 2019I make my own crackers, too and they are pretty good. Also versatile. For me, it’s not so much the packaging, which is bad enough, but the contents. It’s nice to know what’s in them, and they store well in most tins with a little waxed paper.
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The Snail of Happiness
/ July 10, 2019I’m very much looking forward to experimenting with various additions.
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Lesley
/ July 10, 2019I know what you mean. I started making my own cold pressed fruit and nut bars when I realised how much packaging was in the commercial ones. A doddle to make and as good as the shop bought bars. I’m also trying to be more aware of the presence of palm oil even in the so-called organic foods although every now and then I trip up.
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The Snail of Happiness
/ July 10, 2019It can be such a pain to read all the ingredients on a package and it’s all too easy to buy something that contains palm oil… making everything from scratch seems to be the only way to be sure.
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Kim
/ July 10, 2019I hadn’t considered making my own crackers. You may have convinced me – and home made always tastes better! (In addition, you know exactly what’s in there!)
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The Snail of Happiness
/ July 10, 2019It’s one of those things that I’ve had in mind to do for ages and somehow just hadn’t got round to it. Having tried it once, I will certainly be doing it again.
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nanacathy2
/ July 10, 2019Making your own is the only way. Recently I have noticed that certain packaging is losing it’s bit of plastic, such as the box of paper tissues. The daftest thing though was being a plastic glass with lid when I was eating in, i.e. not takeaway for my iced coffee and a paper straw. Why couldn’t I just have a glass that could be washed up. And I really didn’t need a straw which went soggy and was unusable before I got to the end. I swear paper straws didn’t use to get soggy and fall to bits.
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The Snail of Happiness
/ July 10, 2019I’m a bit bewildered about why straws have become so popular over the years – I swear that most of us could drink almost everything without them up until 10 years ago!
I do understand why crackers have a lot of packaging – they are quite delicate, but even so I was shocked when I realised that the palm-oil containing ones (which I didn’t actually buy) were packed in threes, each set in its own plastic wrap and then they were in a shiny box… I’m sure this was excessive and they could have been contained in much less packaging. Anyway, my flour comes in a paper bag, my oil in my own refilled glass bottle, the salt in a big plastic bag (necessary so it doesn’t get damp) and the cheese in waxed paper, so homemade is definitely reducing the plastic content, completely avoiding palm oil and requiring significantly less packaging of any sort in total. Plus they taste great.
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Laurie Graves
/ July 10, 2019I used to make homemade crackers all the time. They are the best for many reasons.
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insearchofitall
/ July 11, 2019I’ve thought about making my own too but now I’ll have to actually look up recipes. I found some with fig and olives that I love but there is so much packaging for such a few crackers. If I can get over my lazy streak. 🙂 Thanks for the inspiration.
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The Snail of Happiness
/ July 11, 2019I have been intending to make some for ages and I too was really just being lazy. Having discovered how easy they are, I certainly won’t be going back to the bought ones/ I’m really looking forward to trying some different flavour combinations.
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insearchofitall
/ July 11, 2019I found some with fig and olive that I’m in love with. Organic but too much packaging. I doubt I could make them but probably just as well. The combination is addictive.
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crawcraftsbeasties
/ July 12, 2019Ooooh – are they really that easy? I’ll definitely be giving this a go, then… I especially like the sound of Kate’s parmesan and smoked paprika version. Yum yum!
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The Snail of Happiness
/ July 12, 2019Yes… easier than biscuits because there are so few ingredients. I’m happily munching through a big batch of black pepper ones, but I’m going to be more adventurous now I know they work.
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crawcraftsbeasties
/ July 12, 2019Mmm, enjoy! 😋
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TMP
/ July 14, 2019I was just thinking about my disappointment with the packaging of store bought crackers and want to try making my own crackers. You make it sound fairly simple. I would love to try making batches of different homemade snacks
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The Snail of Happiness
/ July 14, 2019Give it a go – you won’t be disappointed
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